‘Liverpool players can’t lace Kevin de Bruyne’s boots’: Danny Murphy slams guard of honour

Liverpool great Danny Murphy has launched a scathing rant on Jurgen Klopp's Reds receiving a guard of honour from Man City ahead of their clash at the Etihad. It has become a tradition for football teams to give the champions a guard of honour in their remaining fixtures away from home. However, Danny Murphy angered a few of the Liverpool faithful when he claimed that Man City's Kevin de Bruyne would be clapping for players that 'can’t even lace his boots' on Thursday. 

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Danny Murphy slams Guard of Honour while praising Kevin de Bruyne

On Thursday night the 'Liverpool win Premier League' made headlines when Chelsea defeated Man City. It was the 19th time that the Reds won the English title and first time that Liverpool won the English top division in the Premier League era. Man City boss Pep Guardiola revealed that his team will give Liverpool their respect with the guard of honour ahead of their highly-anticipated clash on Thursday. However, Liverpool great Danny Murphy feels that the Liverpool players might feel 'awkward' and 'uncomfortable' with the Man City players clapping them onto the pitch. 

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In an interview with talkSPORT, the 41-year-old Danny Murphy labelled the guard of honour as a 'nonsense tradition'. Murphy went on to explain that the tradition is not followed due to the sincerity of players and it's rather more for the effect of showing respect, which doesn't mean anything. Murphy revealed that as a player, he would not want to show any respect for his rivals' achievements by clapping when they walk out on the pitch and vice-versa.

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The former Fulham captain branded Man City star Kevin de Bruyne as arguably the best midfielder in the world. Murphy then made a shocking remark by stating that some Liverpool players can't even lace the boots of Kevin de Bruyne. Kevin de Bruyne has scored 12 goals and racked up 18 assists for Man City this season.

The guard of honour rant by Murphy shocked a few of the Liverpool faithful. Murphy later apologized for his comments and stated that he never meant to disrespect any of the Liverpool players. Murphy took to Instagram to publicly apologize for his remarks. Liverpool are a staggering 23 points ahead of Man City on the Premier League table with seven matchdays remaining until the end of the season.

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Image Credits - Liverpoolfc.com / Kevin de Bruyne Instagram